1. Field
The invention is in the field of arrow rests for attachment to archery bows.
2. State of the Art
Arrow rests are generally used by archers to support an arrow during nocking of the arrow in an archery bow and such rests support the arrow as it is launched from the bow. The rest is attached to the archery bow riser and extends therefrom to support the arrow.
In shooting an archery bow, the archer will nock an arrow to the bowstring and place the arrow on an arrow rest. The archer may grip the arrow nock and bowstring and draw the string to drawn position. The forward portion of the arrow is supported on the arrow rest. The archer aims the bow, and then releases the string and arrow to shoot the bow and launch the arrow. When released, it has been found that an arrow will oscillate from side to side in a predictable manner as it passes over the arrow rest and leaves the bow.
Rather than holding the nock and string to draw the bow, the nock of the arrow can be held by a mechanical release device or release aid. The archer holds the mechanical release device using a hand grip portion of the device, draws and aims the bow, and operates the release device to release the arrow and bowstring to shoot the bow. It has been found that when an arrow is released by a mechanical release device, the arrow shaft vibrates unpredictably in an up and down, vertical motion, as opposed to the side-to-side oscillation when released by hand.
There are numerous arrow rests currently available to archers, some of which are designed specifically for use in connection with the hand release of arrows and some designed specifically for use with the mechanical release devices. Others can be used with either. Ideally, an arrow rest should support and guide an arrow during its movement and should allow free passage of arrow vanes without hitting the rest. If arrow vanes (arrow fletching) hit the rest as the arrow passes over the rest, accurate flight of the arrow may be interfered with. Some arrow rests have a small arrow supporting surface that does not interfere with passage of the arrow vanes. Such rests are good for use in target shooting and provide excellent accuracy with a well-tuned bow. However, such rests do not operate as well for hunting because the arrows can easily fall off such rests. During hunting, an arrow may be placed on the rest, but the hunter will continue to move around some in getting into final shooting position before actually shooting the bow. Rests designed to better hold the arrows on the rest do not have the same accuracy, particularly for hunting, because the larger fletching used with the larger hunting arrows has a tendency to hit the rest which interferes with straight arrow flight.
There is a continuing search for an arrow rest providing good accuracy and ease of holding an arrow in place.
According to the invention, an arrow rest, particularly for use with mechanically released arrows, includes a launcher which supports the arrow shaft and which is vertically cushioned to dampen up and down vertical vibration of a mechanically released arrow. The rest also includes upwardly extending flippers on either side of the launcher, but spaced to clear an arrow shaft properly resting on the launcher, to hold an arrow nocked in a bow using the rest, from easily falling off the launcher. While the combination of the vertically cushioned launcher and the side flippers provides a particularly good arrow rest for hunters using mechanical release aids, either of the features of the invention, the vertically cushioned launcher or the side flippers, can be used alone in an arrow rest to provide those particular features and advantages of the invention.